WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2020) A 66 percent majority of Americans oppose defunding police departments, up from 59 percent in early June, amid fears the move will lead to an increase in violent crime, a Rasmussen Reports poll revealed on Tuesday.
"Calls for defunding the police are being aggressively championed by the Black Lives Matter movement, but even among black Americans, 57 percent are opposed to defunding the police in their home community. Sixty-nine percent (69 percent) of whites and 62 percent of other minority adults share that view," a press release explaining the poll said.
The release also noted a gradual increase in those opposing the defund-police efforts as protests following the May 25 death of African-American suspect George Floyd while in police custody.
Support for cutting police department budgets stood at 59 percent in early June.
Overall US crime rates have declined this year, although some cities have reported a spike in shootings and homicides, reflecting what many analysts attribute to a seasonal pattern that they say is unrelated to the pandemic or anti-police protests, according to media reports.
